On Dec. 20, 2018, Plastic Molding Technology Inc. (PMT) was officially verified as a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE).

The VOSB designation is given to small businesses after a lengthy application process to verify veteran ownership and eligibility, including a thorough review by the CVE.

“Our designation as a Veteran-Owned Small Business gives PMT priority access to secure new contracts versus other injection molders. It complements our business’ Made in the USA commitment,” said Charles A. Sholtis, CEO and veteran owner of PMT. “The VOSB designation will allow customers to count business given to PMT as diverse dollars, helping meet Supplier Diversity requirements from their OEM customers.”

Sholtis is the second-generation owner of PMT. He graduated as a commissioned officer through Villanova University’s NROTC, serving in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant junior grade. He was the navigation officer aboard USS Cushing (DD 985), deploying to the Middle East in 1984 on the flagship destroyer.

In 1986, Sholtis honorably discharged from the Navy to join the family business. Twenty-five years later, Sholtis took the helm of PMT to lead the company as CEO and sole owner. Sholtis attributes much of his leadership experience and training to his time in the service.

“Lessons learned include accountability, decisiveness and building a mission-focused team—all of which we use today to help the business succeed,” Sholtis said.

PMT holds a legacy of veteran leadership, as the company was founded by a Navy veteran in 1973. Sholtis’ father, Charles E. Sholtis, served during the 1950s in the Atlantic fleet. Once leaving the military, he continued his service as small business owner—a common transition for service members that remains integral to the U.S. economy today.

According to the National Veteran-Owned Business Association, 70 percent of Americans prefer to do business with veteran-owned companies. In 2017, the Small Business Administration released a report stating 2.52 million businesses in the U.S. are majority-owned by veterans. Ninety-nine percent of all veteran-owned businesses are small businesses, and 442,485 VOSBs are employers.

PMT is proud to be veteran-owned and an employer, providing more than 160 jobs in El Paso.

For more information on our verification, visit PMT’s VOSB page on the VA website.